Page 6 of Honey Bee Library
Once I got Jasper tucked in, I would take a hot shower and then climb into bed next to him. I’d gone too many days without good sleep, and I was starting to feel it.
Tomorrow, I’d be stronger. Tomorrow, I’d tell Cole that we weren’t staying another night—because I would finally have enough energy to deal with the aftermath.
But tonight, I was going to shower and sleep.
Hallelujah.
2
COLE
I wokeup Monday morning to the sound of my phone alarm going off. At first, I thought it was a call from the memory care unit, and I panicked. When I sat up and realized it was just the alarm, I hit snooze, set my phone back onto my nightstand, and closed my eyes. Unfortunately, sleep evaded me, so I eventually just rolled out of bed and headed to the Jack-and-Jill bathroom to shower.
Once I was clean, I turned off the water and wrapped a towel around my waist. I wasn’t really paying attention as I headed into my room, but the moment I saw Jasper, I yelped and stumbled back, my heart pounding in my chest.
Right.
Willow and Jasper were here.
Jasper looked unfazed as he stood in the middle of my room in his Spiderman pajamas. His cheek had imprinted pillow lines, and the hair on the left side of his head was sticking straight up. He looked sleepy but awake.
“Hey, man,” I said, glancing over to the open bedroom door. “Where’s your mom?”
He yawned and shrugged. “She’s sleeping.” He glanced at the wall across from my bed and pointed. “I wanna watch TV.”
I glanced toward the door once more, still unsure if he should be in here, but I also didn’t want to wake up Willow if she was asleep. I doubted she’d gotten very good rest while they were staying at the diner. With how hard she worked on a day-to-day basis, I knew she needed the shut-eye.
“Um, yeah, sure,” I said as I crossed the room and grabbed the remote from the nightstand. It took me a second, but I finally found the cartoon channel, and Jasper seemed content with it. He climbed up onto my bed and snuggled into the pillows before draping the comforter over himself.
I disappeared into the walk-in closet, where I dressed in a pair of pajama pants. I still needed to shave and didn’t want to get cream all over my clothes. When I came back out, Jasper didn’t even look at me, he was basically comatose on the bed, so I headed back into the bathroom to shave.
In all honesty, I was surprised Willow and Jasper were still here. Saturday night, she’d looked like a spooked horse, ready to take off as soon as the reins were loosened. I’d gone to bed wondering if she was waiting for me to fall asleep before grabbing Jasper and heading back to the diner.
Yesterday, she’d left before I woke up and didn’t come back until after dark. I tried not to take offense at her obvious avoidance. I’d given her a place to come back to, so I’d done my duty. Gran couldn’t get mad at me now.
I grabbed my shaving cream and sprayed a giant dollop of the white foam into my palm. I applied it to my face before rinsing the remainder off my hands. Then I grabbed my razor and started shaving. I’d finished up the left side of my face when I heard Willow’s hushed voice. “Jasper! What on earth are you doing in here?” I could tell that she was trying to whisper and sound firm at the same time.
Intrigued, I emerged from the bathroom. Willow had her back to me. She was standing over my bed in a skimpy satin pajama set. Her hair looked wild from sleep, and I couldn’t help the smile that tugged on my lips.
“He’s fine,” I said as I leaned a shoulder on the doorframe.
Willow’s entire body stiffened. It was like time stood still before she slowly turned around. Her eyes were wide, and for a brief moment, I took joy in the fact that her face flushed when her gaze dipped down to my chest.
She was an aggravating woman. In our past interactions, I could feel her judgment toward me. She’d made a lot of assumptions about my life even though she knew nothing about it. Disarming her felt like a win.
“I’m so sorry,” she said as she snapped her gaze back up to my face. “I was asleep and he just left the room. I didn’t hear him.” Her words were coming out at a rapid pace. “I will get him out of your way,” she whispered as she turned back to my bed and pulled the covers off of Jasper.
He protested, but she didn’t pay him any mind. Instead, she grabbed his left hand and foot and dragged him to the edge of the bed. I tried not to notice how her satin shorts slowly rode up her thighs as she moved. Her skin was creamy, and my fingers itched to see if it was as soft as it looked.
I blinked, ripping my gaze away. That was not what I was supposed to be thinking about when I was looking at the co-owner of the diner. This wasn’t a permanent arrangement. I was here to find my mother and make sure the diner stayed open so that opportunity could present itself. Having thoughts about Willow…just couldn’t happen.
Jasper was wailing now. Willow had gotten him off the bed, but he’d instantly dropped to the ground and was refusing to stand. Willow’s face was bright pink as she started to drag him from my room.
I took a step toward her. “I can?—”
“Just leave it. I’m his mom. I can handle him,” Willow called over her shoulder.
I stood there, helplessly watching her escort her son from my room. After she shut the door, the cries grew softer until eventually they disappeared altogether. It took me a moment to gather my thoughts and return to the bathroom to finish shaving. I hated how Willow was so guarded around me. I loved kids. And from the few interactions I’d had with Jasper, I could tell he was a cool kid. I really didn’t mind that Jasper wanted to watch TV in my bed, and I’d wanted Willow to know that.
